Diokno vs bankers?
The banking community is puzzled by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s seeming dislike and suspicion of bankers following a briefing he gave to reporters covering the Department of Finance last Friday, where he specified the qualifications on who should be appointed as new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor, as the term of current BSP Governor Felipe Medalla is set to end by this month if he is not given a fresh six-year mandate by President Marcos.
During that interview, Diokno confidently declared that President Marcos would be naming “in the next few days” a new BSP chief.
The finance chief said he had given his recommendations to the President, and he qualified that his preference for the next BSP Governor is an economist, not a banker. He was quite blunt in stating that being a banker would be a “disqualification, as you will be one of the boys.”
Diokno apparently is wary that if a banker is appointed BSP Governor, the banking players would all rally to protect their own interests.
Some bankers acknowledge, however, that the finance chief is always the “kingmaker” in choosing the BSP Governor.
Diokno, of course, is an economist. And during his stint as BSP Governor under the Duterte administration, he was not exactly cozy with the banking community. It was not surprising that Medalla, also an economist, was chosen – upon Diokno’s recommendation – to take his place after he was appointed to the finance post by the President.
Unfortunately, the friendly relationship of Diokno and Medalla was strained by Diokno’s penchant to comment on monetary matters that should be the domain of the BSP Governor. Furthermore, the push for the Maharlika Investment Fund only exacerbated their opposite views on the controversial sovereign wealth fund. It became quite clear that the finance chief prefers a new BSP head when he further told reporters: “We are looking for the best candidate. The replacement should be better than the incumbent.” It was quite clear that he is not supportive of a new term for Medalla.
The BSP Governor has chosen to keep mum on the matter and go about his business as usual.
But the banking community itself has been unusually silent this time around about the possible changes in the BSP leadership, without the previous lobbying that occurred in the past.
Marcos inducts 2023-2025 FFCCCII board
The board of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII), led by its newly elected president, industrialist Cecilio Pedro, was inducted by no less than President Marcos last Wednesday in Malacanang.
The President, in his speech, thanked the FFCCCII for its contribution to the economy and for helping foster good bilateral ties with China. He also assured the FFCCCII members of his government’s effort to improve the business climate and strengthen the economy, particularly heeding an earlier appeal to improve the ease in doing business.
For his part, Pedro conveyed the federation’s full support to the President and outlined their priorities in helping improve the competitiveness of Philippine industries and businesses.
He said their first priority is digitalization, which is the key to moving forward. Secondly, they will work with the government to strengthen campaigns aimed at the ease of doing business and in improving the business climate in the country to bring in more investments, as investments is key to generating jobs and income.
And thirdly, Pedro said the FFCCCII will support advocacies for the development of a viable energy sector to address the energy supply problem that concerns both businesses and the populace, pointing out that the country’s electricity rate is one of the highest in Southeast Asia and this turns off prospective investors.
He stressed that “our country is rich in natural resources that can generate lower cost renewable energy to provide stable and cheaper energy to all the islands of our nation.”
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Camille Pascual, the daughter of former Philippine National Bank chairman Federico Pascual, was appointed as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) last year during the late Queen Elizabeth’s birthday, in recognition of Pascual’s services to international trade and investment as head of marketing and communication in the Middle East,of the British Embassy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The awarding of the MBE was held only last May 23 in Windsor Castle in the UK, with writer Salman Rushie leading the list of awardees.
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